Unbroken: a Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

Have you ever been to the Olympics, personally met Adolf Hitler himself, joined the Army Air Force, and get stranded in the middle of the ocean only to be sent to a concentration camp after being found? A person who can say he has is Louis Zamperini, the person in Laura's biography Unbroken. As a child in, Louis was a delinquent and was mischievous, seen when the book states, "Thrilled by the crashing of boundaries, Louie was untamable." (Page 6) Often times he would play pranks, get into fights, and cause mayhem. His brother, Pete, is the opposite as he has good manners and rarely gets into trouble. When the principal at Torrance High finally had enough when he sneaked people into the school gym for free entries for the school basketball games. He was easily caught as "When the basketball season began, there was an inexplicable discrepancy between the number of ten-cent tickets sold and the considerably larger number of kids on the bleachers." (Page 13) As a punishment, he would be ineligible to join any school social or athletic activities. His life would change when Pete argued with the principal that "Louie craved attention but had never won it in the form of praise. If Louie were recognized for doing something right, ... he'd turn his life around." (Page 13) After the principal agreed, Pete was determined to guide and train Louie in category of track. He would then go on a journey of survival and resilience during World War II after joining the Army Air Forces. Connections can be made from Unbroken. Louie’s extraordinary life has many personal connections that relate to the world and these connections can be applied to affect change.

Many people in their life have had a situation based on survival, resilience, and redemption just like Louie except his circumstances are unusual and different. For example, on page eleven, the book states, “Louie was never more than an inch from juvenile hall or jail, and as a serial troublemaker, a failing student, and a suspect Italian, he was just the rogue the eugenicists wanted to cull. Suddenly understanding what he was risking, he felt deeply shaken.” The quote explains when Louie realizes the seriousness of his reputation and his actions. If he had continued this behavior, he would have no money for education and no scholarship with his grades. During this time, the idea of eugenics was very popular and stated that the human race can be strengthened by removing the people who are weak such as the poor, the weak, and the insane. A personal connection can be made from this quote because there are times in life where one thinks they have no hope or future like Louie. Such an example would be when one is in great debt, or when one is in large amounts of stress. After reality came back to Louie, he started running track, guided and trained by Pete. With the help of Pete, Louie turned his life around, seen when the book states, “He came home with a mania for running. All of the effort that he’d once put into thieving he threw into track. On Pete’s instruction, he ran the entire paper route for the Torrance Herald, to and from school, and to the beach and back. He rarely stayed on the sidewalk, veering onto neighbors’ lawns to hurdle bushes.” (Page 17) Seen in the quote, Louie is serious about track and is putting a lot of effort and commitment into it. A personal connection can be made because there are times in life where one is totally committed to something such as losing weight, being more social, or being kinder. He improved his behavior and social skills because of this. With this effort, he is soon noticed by his classmates and other people. This was seen on page 18, the book states, “In January 1933, Louie began tenth grade. As he lost his aloof, thorny manner, he was welcomed by the fashionable crowd. Capitalizing on his sudden popularity, Louie ran for class president and won.” This is also an example of Louie’s redemption because he felt as if he had no hope before and now, he feels as if there he does have hope. There can also be moments of redemption in one’s life, such as when one loses a person’s trust but earns it back after proving themselves. These connections can be made to relate to the world at large.

The connections relate to the world at large in various ways, such as the connection of no hope. The feeling of having no hope is devastating, which can be seen affecting Louie on page twelve, “Lost in longing, Louie imagined himself on a train, rolling into country he couldn’t see, growing smaller and more distant until he disappeared.” This feeling is shared by many people throughout the world and history, such as the Holocaust, when Jews were being worked to death in concentration camps, and the Black Death, when a plague epidemic in the Medieval Ages claimed over one-hundred million lives. People during those times had very little hope, and shared the same feeling as Louie. However, he realized he did have hope when he started to run track, seen when the book states, "All he felt was peace." (Page 17) The connection of commitment and effort can be seen in the world, also. A large example is the United Nations, an organization made to promote international co-operation with goals of achieving world peace and to slow down global warming and other global issues. All participating countries discuss issues and if the majority agrees to find and execute a solution to an issue, the countries will work together and commit to finding such a solution. Another international connection is redemption. Redemption is a theme found many times in religion, one of which is Christianity. In the Bible it states, “ In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:4) The quote means that one’s sins could be redeemed and forgiven. With the connections being able to be connected to the world at large and personally, they can also be applied to affect change.

One can apply the connections in the book Unbroken such as the connection of hope. This can be applied by knowing what it feels like to have hope and helping someone if they believe they do not have any hope. The connection of hope is very powerful and could change someone's life, just like Louie's. An example in the novel would be on page nineteen when the book states, "Louie had won by more than a quarter of a mile. He felt as if he would faint, but it wasn't from the exertion. It was from the realization of what he was." To get where he was, he needed a lot of commitment. The connection of commitment is seen and applied in daily life, such when one commits to waking up in the morning, or to complete an academic project. This affects change because it means to have effort to change. The connection of redemption can also be seen nearly everyday when a person gives one a second chance. This can affect change too, because a second chance is when you get to prove yourself to another person and that chance can mean the difference between gaining or losing a friend, a job, or your reputation. A change like that can greatly affect one’s life just as Louie’s life did when he was given another chance from his school principal.

In Unbroken, there are connections that can be made from Louie’s life that is personal and relates to the world at large and they can be applied to affect change. The personal connections that are made are from the themes of hope, commitment, and redemption and there are numerous examples of them throughout the world. They can also be applied to life to affect change, especially one’s life. Laura Hillenbrand’s book, Unbroken is a story of survival, resilience, and redemption with classic themes that can be seen around us on a smaller scale.